I Am the True Lord of Running Away

Chapter 188: Chapter 188: Finding Zong Ziqi

However, Jiang Xu had no way of knowing how things would end for Qian Jianjun and Young Master Qing.

He was already fleeing into the distance at top speed.

Jiang Xu wasn’t actually all that afraid of Qian Jianjun.

The man certainly meant him harm. He’d even gone out of his way to try and make Jiang Xu suffer.

But Qian Jianjun didn’t want to just kill Jiang Xu outright.

Even though he could still get the Foundation Establishment Pill that way, it wouldn’t be as satisfying.

Qian Jianjun wanted to break him, to make Jiang Xu’s spirit submit completely.

With Jiang Xu hidden and Qian Jianjun out in the open—and with Qian Jianjun unable to see through his Concealing Breath Spell—Jiang Xu had many ways to escape with his life.

But today, Jiang Xu knew he had no choice but to run.

It was because today, he had encountered that strange Young Master Qing.

As for this Young Master Qing, Jiang Xu felt completely out of his depth.

This was the first time Jiang Xu’s Perfect Level Spiritual Eye Technique had failed against a Cultivator who wasn’t in the Golden Core Realm.

For Jiang Xu, this was a fatal vulnerability.

It wasn’t just because of the man’s superb concealment skills, but also because Jiang Xu had no idea what the limits of his abilities were.

’If the Spiritual Eye Technique is useless against him, what about the Concealing Breath Spell? Or the Cangmu Skill?’

Jiang Xu still had over a hundred Limit-Breaking Points, which was his ace in the hole.

Whenever something unexpected happened, Jiang Xu could use these Limit-Breaking Points to temporarily boost some of his Perfect Level magic to handle the situation.

But if even his Perfect Level magic was useless, then Jiang Xu would truly be out of options.

In Jiang Xu’s eyes, there was no suspense whatsoever in the magical combat between Qian Jianjun and Young Master Qing.

They weren’t even in the same league.

Once Young Master Qing won, who knew how he would deal with Jiang Xu and the others.

If Jiang Xu had stayed put...

’Would he be dragged off to the Joyful Tower to work as a gigolo?’

’Ugh, then again, that might not be so bad...’

’Pah! No way! Who knows if the clients would even be women? For all I know, they might not even be human.’

So Jiang Xu didn’t hesitate. The moment he saw an opening, he bolted.

As he fled, a new question surfaced in Jiang Xu’s mind.

For the longest time, Jiang Xu had believed that only Cultivators in the Golden Core Realm could see through his Concealing Breath Spell and Spiritual Eye Technique.

But Young Master Qing’s appearance had just shattered that belief.

’Right.’

’It had all been his own assumption.’

’In reality, there were also vast differences in power among Foundation Establishment Cultivators.’

’A Foundation Establishment Cultivator with enough power, or perhaps with powerful enough methods, could ignore his techniques all the same.’

He just hadn’t been exposed by a Foundation Establishment Cultivator before.

For one, Jiang Xu had encountered very few Foundation Establishment Cultivators.

For another, he was extremely cautious and never showed off his abilities, even when he could.

After his encounter with Young Master Qing, a thought suddenly struck Jiang Xu.

’There’s a reason those people are known as the Ten Great Felons.’

’They must all possess some strength that surpasses ordinary Cultivators.’

’That’s the only way they could have earned such a reputation.’

’To be able to kill two such powerful Cultivators in a row... just how strong is Zong Ziqi now? And me, a mere Qi Cultivation Cultivator, am going to save him? Am I not completely overestimating myself...?’

After discovering his magic wasn’t invincible against those in Foundation Establishment, Jiang Xu was now filled with intense self-doubt.

’Even if he found Zong Ziqi, would he really be able to save him?’

’Damn it! I’ve come this far, am I just going to give up now? Zong Ziqi truly considers me a friend. I have to at least go and see! At the very least, I can retrieve his body so it doesn’t rot in the wilderness.’

Recalling the news he’d heard, Jiang Xu gritted his teeth and cast the Seeking Technique.

After he cast the Seeking Technique, Jiang Xu found that Zong Ziqi’s aura had grown even fainter.

Jiang Xu quickly looked at the spiritual thread and found that he was extremely close to Zong Ziqi—in fact, not far from his current location.

He quickly pinpointed the location, activated his Concealing Breath Spell, and hurried over.

...

"Young Master Yellow Springs of the Biluo Demon Sect, Young Master Ghost of the Netherworld Mansion, and Wuji Fairy of the Yin Yang Annihilation Sect. To think three of the Great Felons would mobilize just to hunt down an ordinary Cultivator like me. Isn’t that a bit of an overreaction?"

Zong Ziqi’s face was ashen, drained of all color, as if all his Life Force had been ruthlessly siphoned from his body.

A startling trickle of crimson blood seeped from the corner of his mouth. With each violent cough, more blood slid down his chin, blossoming into garish red flowers on the ground below.

His entire body leaned weakly against the Profound Dragon Sword clutched in his right hand. The blade was embedded in the hard earth, serving as his only support.

Though weakened to his absolute limit, Zong Ziqi used his sheer willpower to remain standing, refusing to collapse.

Sweat and blood mingled on his cheeks. His eyes, though exhausted, remained sharp as he stared ahead at the three Demon Cultivators, who looked grim and were clearly not in good shape themselves.

"As expected of the Thunder Knight." Young Master Yellow Springs of the Biluo Demon Sect spat a mouthful of bloody saliva to the side. "I thought those two fools who died earlier were killed just because they were stupid and careless. I never thought I’d be the one underestimating you."

"Hmph. Yellow Springs, you look down on people too much. To be ranked alongside us, those two from the Black Flame Cave and the Blood Shadow Sect must have had some skill."

Young Master Ghost eyed Zong Ziqi with dread.

His body was bizarre. His feet hovered a short distance above the ground, never touching it. He didn’t seem to be solid, but was slightly transparent and looked somewhat ethereal.

"How long has he been on the rise? A year? Two? We should count ourselves lucky we ran into you so early. If we’d waited another decade, once you’d truly come into your power, I doubt even a few more of us could have stopped you."

Wuji Fairy of the Yin Yang Annihilation Sect, dressed in a white gown, also had a face etched with fatigue. She was clearly exhausted.

"Enough talk! The longer we wait, the more can go wrong!"

A cold, sinister light flickered in Young Master Ghost’s eyes as he cut off Young Master Yellow Springs, who seemed about to launch into a victory speech.

A somber aura instantly saturated the area. He grasped at the empty air and pulled out an ancient Soul-Calling Banner.

The banner was as black as night. With a flick of Young Master Ghost’s wrist, the once-still black silk began to writhe as if alive, and points of eerie, phosphorescent light shone from within.

The ghostly lights gradually coalesced, transforming into malevolent ghosts and phantoms of all shapes and sizes. Some shrieked piercingly, others struggled in agony, and still others wept in silence, creating a series of horrifying, gut-wrenching scenes.

The phantoms thrashed restlessly within the Soul-Calling Banner, flickering in and out of sight like the indignant cries of the dead trapped within.

As waves of grim, ghostly energy billowed out, the air around the Soul-Calling Banner grew thick and heavy, as if time itself had come to a standstill.